Family Guy Makes It to 100
Stewie Griffin still might not be able to snag that Lois-skin rug he's always wanted, but Sunday's episode of Family Guy is going to be special just the same.
The famously reanimated animated sitcom marks its 100th episode this weekend, just in time for November sweeps and to remind us of what almost never was.
Family Guy debuted as a midseason replacement in 1999, was pulled from the air after nine episodes, was yanked again in August 2000, was brought back in July 2001 and then was finally canceled after three seasons in 2002—only to become one of the few shows in history to get a second chance. (As the exact same show, that is, not as a Bionic Woman-style redo.)
At the request of more than 250,000 fans who said in online forums that they would buy the show on DVD if Fox deigned to box it up, Fox Home Entertainment released the first season of Family Guy in April 2003. It sold more than 1 million copies in a matter of weeks and became the top-selling TV DVD of the year.
Those numbers were added to the 1.9 million people catching up with the show on Adult Swim, and by the end of that year, creator Seth MacFarlane was hard at work on a new batch of tales about the demented Griffin family, the patriarch of which makes Homer Simpson look both appealing and like the president of Mensa.
Family Guy reappeared on the Fox schedule in May 2005 and has since become one of Fox's most successful scripted shows and is currently its highest rated comedy.
More than 9.7 million unreadily offended people, a large portion made up of the coveted 18-49 demographic, have been tuning in to the series' sixth season, edging The Simpsons' devoted viewership by about 700,000, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Sunday's episode, "Stewie Kills Lois," will be preceded by the Family Guy 100th Episode Special, a half-hour clipfest to remind fans of some of the Griffins' most outrageous moments, which have become decidedly more outrageous, more nonsensical and, subsequently, more polarizing—you're either cracking up or calling the Parents Television Council—over the past two years.
In fact, just this week the PTC named Family Guy the worst show for young audiences, which along with MacFarlane's other Fox show, American Dad, puts "irreverence on parade on a weekly basis while relentlessly breaking taboos with sexual content and cartoon violence."
But, as it is with many shows that are at times uncomfortable to watch (such as It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, The Simpsons and South Park, to name a few), it's the envelope-pushing that comes to make it different and makes it a resilient fan favorite.
"If something is funny enough, do we step out of the story to do it? Absolutely," MacFarlane told the Canadian Press recently. "I mean, who the hell watches a sitcom for the story? You watch it because you want to laugh. And you watch it because you want to laugh as much as possible."
And whether you think Family Guy is the funniest show on TV or a sexed-up Simpsons rip-off, thanks to those endless random asides, there's actually something in it for everybody.
Just like The Simpsons.
Meanwhile, the Family Guy Freakin' Party Pack, 18 DVDs containing seasons 1-5; hours of bonus material, including deleted scenes and never-before-seen cast interviews and featurettes; a ping-pong set; playing cards and poker chips—all packaged in a nifty collector's case—was released on Tuesday, in case anyone wants to cram before Sunday's celebration.
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